School Chief Stripped Of Duties

District 214 Leader Told He Can Seek New Post

Following an eight-hour closed-door meeting that ended early Wednesday, the school board of Northwest Suburban High School District 214 voted 4-2 to strip Supt. D. Louis Christensen of his duties.

Deputy Supt. Stephen Berry was appointed acting superintendent and given responsibility for administering the district, effective immediately. Berry had been principal of Elk Grove High School before being named deputy superintendent July 1.

Christensen will remain superintendent in name only and will receive new duties at a board meeting Sept. 9.

``This means we really have two superintendents--one with no duties and one with duties,`` said Jane Sutton, recorder for the school board.

School board members also told Christensen that they would not renew his contract when it expires June 30, 1986, and advised him that he was free to seek other employment. They agreed to continue his $72,800 salary and all benefits.

for the embattled superintendent, and said he had no plans to sue to overturn the decision.

``They were going to terminate him and they didn`t,`` Brittain said. ``We made it clear if they did that, we would consider it a breach of his contract and challenge them in court.``

The district, the largest high school district in the state, has 225,000 residents and 15,000 students from Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Prospect Heights, Mt. Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling.

Attempts to reach Christensen for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful, but on Tuesday he had said: ``Only people who play it safe stay in one place for long in this business.``

Robert Winter, school board president and a Christensen ally who cast one of the two votes against the move, said Wednesday he would ``let my vote speak for itself.``

But Jeff Huebner, vice president of the 1,000-member teachers association, which had called for Christensen`s removal, said: ``Christensen lost our trust. He said one thing and did another. His credibility was shot. He`s a nice guy, but he`s been destroying himself.``

Huebner said the teachers association was told in April that there was

``a gentlemen`s agreement`` between the board and the superintendent that if the board refrained from firing him he would seek another position and voluntarily resign by June 30.

The charges against Christensen include insensitivity to staff members, inconsistency, spending money without board approval, publicly supporting programs prior to board approval and leaving a convention one day early without board approval.

In the two years Christensen has been superintendent, he pared the administrative staff by one third (.)